ABSTRACT
Cotton cultivation began in the Indus valley around 3000 B.C. Cotton crop and its products have been mentioned in the Rig-Veda and other ancient Indian texts of 1500 B.C. It seems cotton cultivation spread to many regions within the Indian subcontinent during the period between 2000-1000 B.C. [1]. Egyptians cultivated cotton in the Nile valley during 3rd millennium B.C. Cotton was independently domesticated and grown by natives in the New World. Cotton fabrics discovered in the caves in Tehuacan in Mexico offer evidence indicating that cotton crop was cultivated in this region during 5800 B.C. Several archeological evidences suggest that cotton cultivation occurred in Mexico during 3rd millennium B.C. Ancient Peruvians cultivated cotton in the Coastal regions, North Chaco and Nazca. It was mostly constituted by G. barbedense. Persian region supported cotton cultivation during fifth century B.C. It seems Greeks and Arabs initiated cotton production during the period of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.). Cotton cropping zones spread to Asia Minor and Europe from Gangetic belt.
